Nepal succumbed to a six-wicket defeat against Hong Kong in their opening match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asian Region Qualifier at the ICC Academy Ground No 2 in Dubai on Monday.

Put into bat first, Nepal came up with a poor show and were restricted to 104-3 at close despite opener Sita Rana Magar scoring unbeaten 40 runs. In reply, Hong Kong chased the target at the cost of four wickets with two overs to spare.

Nepal got an early jolt after opener Kabita Kunwar was out for a duck in the very second delivery of the innings without opening score. Her opening partner Rana Magar hit four fences in her 48-ball knock.

But Kajal Shrestha, who came to bat at number three, played a sluggish innings collecting four runs in 23 deliveries. Following Shrestha's departure in the fifth ball of the eighth over, Indu Barma and Rana Magar played a 81-run stand for the third wicket before Barma was dismissed for 31 runs. Barma hit three boundaries in her 37-ball knock. Captain Rubina Chhetry remained unbeaten on two runs. Nepal were also gifted with extra 27 runs.

Hong Kong bowlers Betty Chan and Kary Chan grabbed one wicket each. Betty gave away just 12 runs in her four-over spell with just one maiden over. Kary conceded 16 runs in her four-over bowling.

In the run chase, Hong Kong lost opener Yasmin Daswani for just two runs after she was caught by Kajal Shrestha off Kabita Kunwar in the third over with just three runs on board. But her opening partner Mariko Hills contributed not out 42 runs to rescue the innings. She hit four fences facing 38 balls.

Natasha Miles and Kary Chan made remarkable contributions for Hong Kong scoring 16 runs and 17 runs respectively. Mile cracked three fours in her 13 ball knock while Chan hit two boundaries facing 22 deliveries.

Emma Lai remained unbeaten on 14 off 12 while Shanzeen Shahzad scored seven runs.

Nepali bowlers Kunwar, Rana Magar and Sabnam Rai picked one wicket each. Kunwar and Rana Magar both gave away 18 runs in their four-over spell each. Rai conceded 14 runs in her two-over bowling.

Nepal will play against Bhutan in their second match on Tuesday. The Qualifiers feature six teams including hosts UAE, Kuwait, Malaysia apart from Nepal, Bhutan and Hong Kong. The team finishing on top of the standings after round robin league will qualify for the final phase of qualifiers next year.